A FICTIONAL depiction of Martin Luther King’s last night on Earth was the subject of a new production that was due to make its touring debut on stage at Powys Dance on Tuesday.

Cardiff-based theatre company Fio were bringing their acclaimed production of The Mountaintop to the dance and drama company based in Llandrindod Wells to mark the beginning of Black History Month, which runs all through October.

The production had rave reviews when it was presented at The Other Room in Cardiff in October 2016. The tour was officially launched at the Welsh Assembly Senedd in Cardiff on Monday.

In his motel room in Memphis, Martin Luther King is visited by Camae, a maid on a much greater mission than delivering his coffee.

With vivid theatrical imagination and powerful emotion, playwright Katori Hall beautifully fictionalises the final hours of Dr King’s life in this drama about leadership, legacy and mortality, which won an Olivier Award for Best New Drama. The play explores themes of poverty, racism and the way to deal with impending death. Katori examines the world then and the world now. Asking the audience: How much has really changed?

Mensah Bediako has rejoined the company to play the part of Martin Luther King, while Rebecca Carrie joins the company as Camae, the maid. The show is directed by Fio artistic director Abdul Shayek.

Speaking of this ambitious adventure, Abdul said: “The Mountaintop spoke to me in way no other play had for some time now. It provoked a number of emotions within me, from amusement to anger and frustration. I’d like to achieve that with our audiences and start a wider conversation around race, prejudice and importantly the need for us to embrace each other’s differences.

“This will also be one of the very few times when we have an all-black cast on a stage in Wales, something which is absolutely mind boggling, not because it is being done now, but because it is 2017 and the fact that this hasn’t happened more often makes me frustrated and sad.

“To tour this production during Black History Month across Wales makes me very proud of the company and hope that audiences across Wales are ready to be a part of the conversation.”

Anyone who missed the production at Powys Dance can still catch The Mountaintop at future performances in Narberth (October 7),

Blackwood (October 13), Newport (October 18&19), Pontio (October 24) and Llanelli (October 26&27).

Tickets for all productions are £12 (£10 concessions) and more details are available on www.wearefio.co.uk.